Past Grudges, Saving Graces
by Synonymia
Summary: When you've committed atrocities, someone is bound to be vengeful. Someone is after the Turks... But, help can be found in the most unwilling of places... [On hiatus]
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer : Yes, that's right, you have finally chanced upon the mysterious fanfic writer who just happens to own Squaresoft. Yes, Final Fantasy VII belongs to me. Sorry, you can't borrow Reno. Not even for the night. 

**Past Grudges, Saving Graces   
**A Shinimegami Rena Valentine Production

Chapter I  
_Strangers in the night, reflections on the Past, and the sneaking suspicion that someone is watching you..._

  
  
Someone was following him... 

Reno had never been the paranoid type, but despite popular opinion, the Turk wasn't stupid. One couldn't be in his position without a certain degree of intelligence, especially his new position as head of the Turks under Reeve's presidency. No, he was definitely not stupid. Reno wasn't relying on gut instinct either, though it *had* felt like someone was watching him. No- he distinctly heard a second set of footsteps echoing behind him. 

He smirked, amused. It was a good thing he wasn't drunk at the moment. He could have some fun yet. 

_Now what was the best way to confuse a stalker?_ Reno wondered to himself, the smirk still playing upon his face as he made a sharp turn. 

Several turns later, Reno was trying desperately to stifle the sudden urge to laugh as he navigated the streets of Neo-Midgar. However, the next turn he took held a surprise for him, rather than the stalker. The smirk fell away when he saw something shiny and metallic pointing towards his head. He yelped in surprise as his eyes focused on the gun, it's cool sliver metel pressed against his forehead. 

For once in his life, Reno was speechless. He continued staring at the man who held the gun. Something looked familiar about him... something in those cold gray eyes. The man was impressively tall, moreso than Reno who stood at about six feet tall. His hair was either platinum blond or white, Reno couldn't tell. The man looked to be about 45 years of age, but something in his demeaner, in the way he stood, in the smirk that played upon his features told Reno that he was not to be messed with. 

Then there was the scar. A gruesome whitish-pink line that ran down the man's face, beginning near his hairline and running down the left side of his face, stopping just under his jaw. 

Reno was screwed. But just as things looked bad, the continued to get worse. The man's voice shook him out of his reverie. 

"Mr. Charlemagne, I presume?" 

Reno blinked, inwardly screaming. No one knew his last name. Rude didn't know his last name. Tseng didn't know his last name and he's been like a father to him. He gulped, shaking this strange occurence off. He needed to find a way out, but how? 

His fate was sealed when he heard the familiar booted footsteps of his stalker, coming from behind. 

_Forgot about him,_ Reno noted, never taking his eyes off of the man before him. The man backed up a few feet, the gun still trained on the redhead. 

"Down on your knees, Charlemagne." He complied, not knowing what else to do. He felt the boot of the stalker pushing into the small of his back, forcing him to lie on his stomach on the concrete sidewalk. 

The man in front of him dug through his black trench coat, retrieved a syringe and threw it to the stalker. "Be careful with 'im Kayce. He's a Turk, don't forget that." 

"Will do sir." Kayce answered as he lowered himself, still keeping Reno firmly held on the ground. 

Reno felt a sharp prick on his left shoulder, and stifled a gasp as the liquid was injected, burning its way into his bloodstream. Then everything slowly began to fade. 

~*~

Yuffie sat quietly in a small forest outside of Wutai, meditating. 

It had only been four years, but so much had changed. Yuffie had been none too surprised when she heard the news concerning Tifa and Cloud a year earlier, but Cid and Shera engaged? Maybe she just didn't see that one coming. Barret was, of course, raising Marlene who was slowly but surely growing up. Yuffie suppressed a laugh, thinking of the young girl's antics. She had a feeling that Barret was in the process of growing a few new grey hairs. 

Nanaki, formerly Red XIII now resided at Cosmo Canyon, learning from the canyon's elders and training to be the canyon's guardian. As for Vincent... well, she wasn't too sure about Vincent. He could be a number of places. She had a feeling he wouldn't settle down somewhere. She just hoped he wasn't where they'd found him. 

Yuffie had changed as well. She'd matured. Simple as that. She was 21 and looked every bit of it. Though her hair and her choice of attair remained nearly the same, she was different. She still knew how to have fun. Yuffie was by no means extremely serious, or very serious at all for that matter, but gone were the materia stealing, somewhat selfish days of yore. 

Over time, her skills had improved. She'd lived up to her long professed title of ninja. 

Yuffie got up from her spot on the soft green grass and stretched. She picked up her conformer and began heading towards Wutai. 

She could have sworn she heard a scream carried by the wind. 

~*~

"Where are they?" 

Reno painfully looked up. He was chained to the ceiling by his wrists, half hanging, half standing. It was some sort of building, a basement. He looked around, taking in the scenery, while trying to catch his breath. The room was dark and musty, lit only where his interrogator stood. He could barely make out the outline of a large cot in the far corner. He blinked drowsily as the voice boomed again. He'd just woken up from his drug induced stupor at most ten minutes previous. Reno could barely concentrate without feeling his head invountarily drop to his chest. 

"Where are they?" 

"I don't know." He shot back, surpising himself with the quickness of response. His head ached but Reno knew his headache was the least of his worries as he awaited another punch to the stomach. It came with full force. He gagged, fighting unconsciousness. 

"Should I ask again?" 

"I. Don't. Fucking. Know. And if I did, do you think I'd honestly tell you?" He saw a flicker of anger in the other man's eyes and closed his own. 

He gritted his teeth. 

A blow to the stomach. 

He gagged with an explosion of coughing. 

A punch in the face. 

He spit blood in the direction of the man, grinning slyly through the pain. "Fuck you." 

Blow after blow rained on him. He heard something crack and finally screamed out in pain. After a few minutes, the barrage ceased. Reno barely noticed the chains loosening as his captor unlocked them, letting him fall unceremoniously to the hardwood floor. He heard the door close and lock. Reno moaned softly as he pulled himself onto the dusty old cot, finally giving into unconsciousness. 

~*~

A/N: Yes... I'm evil and I _like_ it. I also like random cliffhangers. Hope someone liked this, found it intriguing, or has some thought on it... tah. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Past Grudges, Saving Graces   
**A Shinimegami Rena Valentine Production

Chapter II  
_The dangers of curiosity, angry co-workers, and a mayhem filled reunion of enemies..._

  
  
He was cold. 

There were dozens of other things to worry about, but it was all Reno could notice. 

It was cold, he was hungry, and it hurt to breathe. Now the list was near completion. 

He sat up with a groan and rubbed the back of his head. He was sitting on a grimy old cot in some sort of old, abandoned basement. The room was dusty, dirty and smelled vaguely of old water, sawdust, and mold. 

That man... Platinum white hair and a striking pink scar... Where had he seen him before? And why was he so intent on finding the rest of the Turks? Reno wished he could remember why the man seemed so familiar. 

Being hated was nothing new to Reno. Even under Reeve's presidency, the Turks weren't trusted. Even though the Turks were no longer quite as terrible and bloodthirsty as the had been, they were still hated. In a way, Reno was actually surprised that something like this hadn't happened to him or the other Turks, earlier. 

He silently cursed to himself. He'd been stupid... He shouldn't have underestimated his stalker so. 

If Tseng was still alive... Reno knew what Tseng would say to him for his foolishness. Now he was paying for such ignorance. 

The door unlocked and opened. Reno shot the door a glance, his eyes meeting those of Kayce. 

"Ready to talk now?" 

~*~

"I don't like this." 

Yuffie wandered the western shores her home island. For the third day in a row, Yuffie thought she heard screaming, the sound growing louder and more pained as she headed west. 

She tightened her hold on her Conformer. Something was going on... Something wasn't right, and she was going to find out what it was. 

_Jana's old Chocobo wherehouse... but she died years ago..._

It was a large, one story old building by the beaches of Wutai. An old Wutainese woman who simply went by the name of Jana had bred prize winning chocobos, up until her untimely death. Yuffie couldn't remember anyone buying or claiming the old woman's property after her death. For all she remembered, it was abandoned. 

_But, if it was abandoned, then what was going on in there?_

Yuffie crept to the building as silently as possible. Well, silently until she stepped to close to a tree full of birds. 

Angry birds intent of defending their nests. 

"Damn!" 

She hear the crackle of electricity as the begun readying themselves for attack. 

_Run now and live to fight another day..._ Yuffie ran until a rather bulky man stepped out of the building. 

A rather bulky man with a gun. 

She heard the click of the gun and stopped in her tracks. Yuffie was quick and agile, but not moreso than a flying bullet. 

"Gawd!" Yuffie said as she angrily placed her Conformer on the ground, raising her hands in back of her head. 

"...Dammit." 

~*~

Elena Cole sipped her latte impatiently as she stared across the table at her fellow Turk, Rude Davenport and her new employer and president, Reeve Harrison. 

She slammed the cup on the table, foam and coffee splashing onto the hard wood. "Where the hell is he?" 

"... I haven't heard from him in nearly a week." Rude said calmly. 

"What?!" Elena and Reeve both exclaimed in unison. 

"Well, it's not uncommon for Reno to disappear for a few days..." Rude's voice was deep and slightly tinged with worry for his best friend. "but never for this long. He'd get drunk and stay at home sometimes, but only for three days at most." 

"This doesn't sound good." Reeve said, pondering aloud. He looked up at the other two Turks. "If he doesn't contact you within the next two days, you have my authorization to begin a search." 

~*~

Reno sighed painfully as he drew his now tattered and torn suit jacket tighter around his shoulders. It was getting cold in the basement, and he had a feeling it was about to get colder. 

How long had he been down there? A few days? A week? They came in every day, beating him in hopes that he'd give in and tell them where to find Rude and Elena. 

Reno grinned morosely. Sephiroth'd be freezing his ass in hell before he would give in. 

The door opened again and Reno involuntarily shuddered. Twice in a day, now? 

He squinted up at the door, and watched what appeared to be a woman being thrown down to the ground. 

"Get in and shut up!" 

She got to her feet, diligently, and dusted off her pants. "You can't do this to me! Do you have any idea who I am?!" 

Reno heard a man laugh. "Of course I know who you are! And believe me, you, you'll be making a lot of ransom money for me and my men... just you wait, princess." 

The woman snorted angrily. "Let me out of here, goddammit!" She launched herself at the door, just in time for the man to close and lock it. 

Reno laughed softly to himself... whoever she was, she had guts. 

She pounded the door. "You'll regret the day you ever messed with Yuffie Sakura Kisaragi!" She yelled angrily. 

The smile on Reno's face fell. _Shit... Not Avalanche girl..._

~*~

Yuffie paced the room for about five minutes, until finally growling under her breath and resigning to a bench on the other side of the room. 

"You shouldn't have been so loud." 

Yuffie looked up, startled. She hadn't noticed anyone in the room with her. Then she saw the figure on the cot across from her bench. He was hunched in the shadows, shivering slightly against the wall, a navy blue jacked hanging over his stooped shoulders. 

"And why the hell not?" She yelled. She was not in the mood for this. 

"They might not feed us." 

She stood up, annoyed. "And who the hell are you?" 

Silence. 

She walked across the room. "I asked you a..." Yuffie gasped. Navy blue suit. Flaming red hair. 

_No... What's his name? Turk-boy... Chicago? Dallas? Phoenix?_

She took a defensive step back and felt a hand grab onto her arm. 

"Like what you see?" Reno looked at her, amused emerald green meeting startled gray eyes. He released her arm and gazed back at the far wall. 

She clenched her teeth in annoyance. _Reno. _

Some things would never change... 

~*~

A/N: Well, there's another part. Hope it's coming along somewhat well... I know the chapters aren't tremendously long, but that's the way my muses have been working lately. *cracks whip* I'll straighten them out soon enough.

Other than the strange lengths of my stories, my muses have been working rather well... The next part shouldn't take that long to come out... I've been writing quite a lot lately (Finished my Turks X-mas angst story and this part in a twelve hour span... wow).

So, 'till next time... Happy Holidays to all! ^_^ 


	3. Chapter 3

**Past Grudges, Saving Graces   
**A Shinimegami Rena Valentine Production

Chapter III  
_A strange sense of bonding, search and rescue, and a false sense of closure..._

  
Yuffie eyed Reno cautiously. She gritted her teeth in annoyance. Of all the Turks to be trapped in a building with, it had to be him? Rude she could handle. Elena would be tough, but she wouldn't be nearly as bad. But Reno? 

She sighed as she leant back against the wall. It was late at night and she wanted to get in some semblance of sleep. Once she was rested, maybe she could think up a means to escape. 

Reno slowly curled up on the cot and stretched out, his six foot tall frame using up every inch of the surface, and then some. He sighed and then began to softly snore. 

_Figures._ Yuffie growled as she struggled on the bench to find a comfortable position to sit in. It was going to be a long night. 

~*~

"I don't like this, Rude." Elena paced the length of the Turks' office. "He hasn't been gone this long before." 

"I know, Elena. I'm sure he's fine, wherever he is." Rude offered a slight, reassuring smile, a rare gesture. "Now please, Elena, stop pacing... you're making me dizzy." 

Elena gave in and sat on the nearest chair, just in time to see the door burst open. Reeve abruptly entered, stress clearly evident on her face. 

Elena shot out of her seat. "Reeve?! What's going on? News on Reno?" 

"No... I think I may have a job for you two." He slammed a newspaper on the desk. 

"Wait... without Reno?" Elena crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Reeve, you know we work as a team." 

"I know, I know... but this needs our attention now." 

"But..." Rude hushed her with a wave of his arm. "Continue." 

"You know that pact we made with Cosmo Canyon, Wutai, and Mideel?" 

Elena sat down and crossed her legs. "Yeah, the peace and protection act. What about it?" 

"I got a call from Lord Godo of Wutai, yesterday afternoon. This was in the Wutai Times today." He pointed to the newspaper laying on the table. 

Rude picked up the newspaper and opened it up to the cover page. "'Lady Yuffie Kisaragi kidnapped.' Hmm..." He looked over the page, and handed it to Elena. 

"Godo got a ransom note yesterday. There were spots of blood on the paper... a DNA test proved it was hers." 

"What do they want?" Elena folded up the newspaper and gently placed it on the desk. 

"I don't know, but it's a large sum of money. Wutai is still in the process of building itself up again. They don't have the money to pay... Plus, I think Godo's too proud to give in to people like this. He wants us to start up a search for Yuffie." 

~*~

Reno awoke with a groan and pulled himself up. How many days had it been since they last questioned him? Two? Three? They must be busy with Yuffie, their new little project. 

He stretched, cat like, wincing as his ribs protested in a stabbing sensation. Yuffie lay across from him, asleep on the bench. He glanced at her momentarily, almost feeling bad that he had taken the cot all for himself. 

Almost. 

Lying by the door was a small tray, containing two bowls of some sort of gruelish oatmeal substance. 

"Shnookums, it's breakfast time!" Reno shook Yuffie lightly and brought the tray over to his cot. "And it looks.... delicious." 

Yuffie growled and attempted to turn over, only succeeding in falling off the bench. "Funny Reno. I can't say how much I enjoy your company." 

"I can't say how much I'm going to enjoy your breakfast." Reno said as he picked up a spoon and began carefully mixing the goop in the bowl. _Better not be any roaches in here this time..._

"Have fun... good luck finding a prize in there. Maybe this time it'll be a cricket." She stood up, stretched, and sat back down on the bench. 

"You really are spoiled, sister." He began eating, forcing down the nauseating mess. 

"You really are disgusting." 

He finished scarfing down the 'food.' "No, really, I mean it. When I was younger, I was lucky to have something like this." He dug into her bowl, hungrily. "You, on the other hand, spend your time in your own little world, where your daddy owns everything." 

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Don't pretend that you know the half of what my life is or has been like. Just eat your damn food and shut up." 

Reno opened his mouth to say something sarcastic, but the door suddenly opened. Both captives turned to the door immediately, and saw the amused and smirking face of Kayce staring back at them. 

"Don't think we forgot about you, Reno." 

"What's going on? Finally getting him out of here? Thank God!" Yuffie almost did a dance, but Reno shot him a look. She sank back in her seat. 

"Just for a little while... don't get your hopes up." He glanced at Reno. "Unless he puts up a fight." Kayce motioned toward Reno with his gun. "Come along now... don't want to keep 'im waiting." 

Yuffie watched Reno slowly walk toward the door. _This doesn't sound good..._

~*~

"We're going to try this a different way." Reno looked up at the white haired man with malice. He was chained upright as he had been the first time they had interrogated him. "We're going to give you a taste of your own medicine, so to speak." 

Reno's eyes narrowed at the figure before him. Then he saw the weapon he carried with him. 

_My nightstick!_

"There was this psychological experiment they once did. The purpose and outcome are all irrelevant in this case, but I'm going to use the same premise." He turned on the nightstick, putting it on the lowest level. "See, they chose two people. The subject and the questioner. The latter asked questions, while the subject answered them. Whenever the subject answered incorrectly, he was shocked with electricity, like so." The man smacked Reno in the side, shocking him slightly. "Not so bad, I know. But, after every incorrect answer, the electric current would increase. There's the kicker!" He laughed, a cold sense of amusement in his voice. 

"I've always liked that study. It's intriguing. Wouldn't you agree?" 

~*~

Elena holstered her gun with a frustrated growl. How many times had she pulled it out after hearing a noise, only to find that it was a bird or some other species of wildlife? 

"This is pointless! How do we have any idea where the hell they are?!" 

Rude looked up at her silently and managed a response. "You know how we deal with missing persons, Elena. First we start around the area they went missing, then we spread out. Turk procedure." 

Elena said nothing and kicked the nearest rock in frustration. It was so much easier when they did the kidnapping... 

"What was that, Elena?" 

"What was what?! That? Just a rock!" She threw out her arms in frustration. 

Rude knelt next to the reddish rock, curiously. He picked it up and dusted it off until it was pristine, shining and glowing faintly in the sunlight. "This isn't just a rock, Elena." 

~*~

"In Junon?" 

Reno said nothing, trying to focus on something other than the pain that covered nearly every inch of his body. 

The interrogator lunged forward, hitting Reno in the ribs, electricity crackling in the air. Reno let out a slight gasp. 

"How about Reeve Corp. Headquarters?" 

Reno growled an obscenity and was met with another surge of electricity. The still unnamed interrogator was losing his patience all too quickly, and punched him in the face. Reno looked into the man's eyes and spit at him, saliva and blood staining his clean white shirt. 

Ferocity. The man pulled Reno close to him by his ponytail, making Reno flinch involuntarily. They were face to face, now, their noses nearly touching. "Nobody fucks with Constantine Brandt without being fully dealt with." He pushed the high powered nightstick into Reno's back, between his shoulders and just below his neck. 

He let go. "You will not be the first. You will talk." 

Constantine released the trigger, relishing the screams of agony as an unspeakable number of volts went through Reno's ravished body. 

~*~

Yuffie yawned as she poked around in an old crate in the back of the basement. Alone for the past twenty minutes, what else could she do? All she had found thus far was rotting chocobo feed and a few old blankets. 

_At least these blankets may come to some use..._

Yuffie looked up startled to see the door swing open, revealing Kayce once more. "Sorry girlie, looks like we didn't kill 'im yet." He tossed a rather beaten and noticeably burnt and shivering Reno to the ground with a sickening thud and left the room. 

Yuffie put the blankets on the bench and cautiously walked up to Reno. He was breathing shakily, almost as if it held effort to do so. 

She put a hand to the side of his face, noting a slight discoloration as bruises were forming. He moaned softly, his body wracked by shaking. 

_Oh God... What do I do? Do I move him? Can I move him? What?_

He moaned again. _You're losing it, girl... Caring about an ex enemy now... Caring about _Reno_?_

Suddenly she heard gunshots and screaming. What was going on in there? 

Yuffie instinctively huddled closer to Reno's inert form as she heard another gunshot tear through the door. It opened once again, this time revealing the suit clad forms of Rude and Elena. 

Yuffie sighed in relief. Finally, this hell was over. She stood up, careful not to bump Reno. "I have never been so happy to see Turks in my life." 

~*~

A/N: No, this is NOT the end. There is still a lot to be resolved and I'm not finishing it here! Plus, as asked in a review, this will have some romance. I'm not sure exactly how much, but I think everyone can guess who the two are. ^_~ 

I'm sorry if much of this isn't all that medically correct. I want to be a writer, not a doctor! I'm pretty certain that there should be a lot more problems with being electrocuted in such a way... Just pretend that Reno's the Superman and can handle high voltage without dying. 

As for that psychological study... well, I can't remember who did it, but it was done... sorta a study on social psychology. I believe it was testing people's obedience and such... 

More to come! Thank the muses! 


	4. Chapter 4

**Past Grudges, Saving Graces  
** A Shinimegami Rena Valentine Production

Chapter IV  
_Materia hunting tips, a night under the stars, and an unwilling recruitment._

  
"Yuffie!"

A dark haired, beared man in a black suit stepped out of the large helicopter, just in time to be glomped by the girl. Some things would never change. She let go with a grin, "How are you, old man?"

He shook his head in mock frustration. After Meteor, when he'd revealed his true self, Yuffie had been the first to befriend him, the man formerly known as Cait Sith. Surprisingly, even after he had told her that the only materia he carried with him was a low level cure.

Two months after the reconstruction of Neo Midgar was complete, President Reeve Harrison formally signed a policy that would protect and aide Cosmo Canyon, as well as help rehabilitate the struggling Mideel and Wutai. Two years later, his undertakings seemed to be working. 

Elena and Rude stepped up to Reeve, weariness written on their features. Years of friendship, formalities were all but forgotten between the president and his Turks. 

"Sir..." 

Well, mostly in regards to Reno. Some habits wouldn't die so easily. Nor would they form.

Reeve looked up and nodded to Elena. "...And Reno?"

Yuffie grinned at the president. "Oh, Turk boy? He's sleeping. It's amazing what a mastered cure and a sleepel will do to a guy."

~*~

Darkness, and a haze of pain that would not end. Reno Charlemagne felt himself drift out of the welcoming bliss of unconsciousness, and into harsh reality. He opened his eyes slowly, attempting to blink away all remnants of blurriness.

Finally his senses focused on a wrinkly old woman, obviously Wutainese. He took in his surroundings, noting several paintings on the walls, the simple furniture adorning the room, and the small fireplace to his far left. The bed he lay in was soft, the pillows filled with what was most likely Chocobo down. Someone had expensive taste.

"Where am I?"

The old woman turned around, after placing a tray of tea on the table. She glanced at him with curiosity, "I bring tea. You want tea?"

Reno sighed as he attempted to sit himself upright. "Do you understand a f... a word that I'm saying?"

The woman turned around and walked to the door. "I get Lady Kisaragi for you."

He sighed once more and slouched back into the bed._ Avalanche girl... So I'm in Wutai?_

But how did I get here? How did I... We get out of that building... and that Constantine guy...

Reno shook his head and looked out the nearest window just in time to hear the door open and the clicking of Yuffie's boots against the hardwood door. She stood in the doorway, looking half angry, half amused with the Turk, and placed hand on hip as she leaned on the wooden supports. 

"You shouldn't have spoken to her that way."

Reno snorted. He hated being bossed around and hated being admonished. "And what are you going to do? Sic Daddy on me?"

Yuffie laughed. "I have more power around here then you apparently know. And for your information, she understood everything you said. She graduated top of her class, Midgar, Sector 2 University."

"Big words, brat. I'm amazed."

She ignored him. "I want to know what all that was about."

Reno again attempted to sit up and fell back down, panting and biting back a groan. "All what?"

"I want to know who those guys were and why they were here in Wutai."

He rolled his eyes. Someone was on a mission. "Do you think I'd know?"

"I'd assume, since you seem to have pissed them off."

He looked down, thoughtfully. He had questions of his own. Who was this Constantine guy? Why did he look familiar? Obviously Yuffie didn't know.

Yuffie sighed and turned around. "Godo and Reeve want to meet with you as soon as you're able. They're in the meeting hall. It's hard to miss..." She paused a moment, thoughtfully. "But if you get lost, I'm sure someone will be able to point it out for you." With those words, Yuffie left the room, closing the heavy door with a loud thud.

Reno sighed and pulled himself to his feet. It was going to be a long day.

~*~

"I would like to thank you for rescuing my daughter." Godo nodded to the side of the table where Elena and Rude sat, calmly sipping tea. "She has a habit of going off alone..."

Yuffie rolled her eyes in annoyance, slightly embarrassed. When would he think of her as an adult? Someone who could take care of herself? She'd defeated him four years earlier... Proven herself as competent time and again, but still... 

Rude nodded silently, allowing the more vocal Elena to fill the man in on how they went about retrieving his daughter.

"Well... We searched out the area, per regulation, when we found a clue..."

"–a clue?" Reeve raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, sir... a clue." Elena felt a sharp jabbing sensation in her side - Rude's elbow. Growling under her breath, she dug through her jacket pocket and produced a glowing red stone. Phoenix materia. 

"I guess there's a little bit of a materia thief in us all, eh 'Lena?"

Reno walked stiffly into the room grinning at Elena. She rolled her eyes and handed the summon back to a thoroughly amused Yuffie.

"Not bad. Not bad at all."

"Yeah, maybe she can give you some pointers. Didn't know you were into that kind of thing..." Reno smirked as he seated himself next to Reeve. "So you wanted to see me?"

"We're trying to get everyone's story together. Godo is a little curious as to what this... criminal is doing in Wutai and what Yuffie has to do with it."

"Does the name Constantine Brandt ring a bell?" 

"Constantine Brandt... Constantine Brandt. Nope, can't say I've heard of him." 

"I've seen him somewhere, but I'm not quite sure who he is..."

"So in other words, you probably pissed someone off while drunk, and now he's after your ass, is that it?" Yuffie sat back in her chair, leaning on the two back legs while tossing the materia from one hand to the other.

Godo glared at his daughter. "If you're bored, you may leave."

"No... really, I'm interested in what kind of trouble Reno's bringing us."

Reno snorted, audibly annoyed. "No... he's after the three of us. Elena, Rude, and myself."

"Maybe someone we put away?" Rude queried, thoughtfully.

"Yeah... maybe. Either way, this guy's probably out of Wutai by now anyway. I don't think anyone would be that stupid to stick around..." Reno stood up and stretched his tired muscles. "Are we done here?"

Reeve looked to Wutai's leader. "Yeah. We'll station some SOLDIERS here in case anything happens. But other than that, everything will most likely be okay..."

Godo nodded. "Thank you again. All of you. You may stay in the guest quarters overnight if you wish."

Reeve gave the man his thanks and exited the room with the red headed Turk. He grinned. "You, Reno, look like shit."

A sly smile spread across Yuffie's face as she too exited. "You should have seen him yesterday."

~*~

Reno laid in the bed, staring at the shadows that played upon the ceiling. He'd spent most of the day unconscious, and he had a mad man hunting for him. How could he sleep? Slipping his blue jacket on, he crept out of the room, hoping not to awaken his friends.

He silently opened the double doors wondering where they led... Anywhere was better than the darkened guest bedroom. What he found, however, was far better than what he expected.

A small stream cut its way through the dark green, moonlit vegetation of what seemed to be a meditation garden of sorts. Reno smirked as he followed the cobblestone path, leading him to a small Koi pond at the base of Da Chao. He sat by the pond, eyeing the small fish and frogs.

_Wonder what kind of a pansy they'd think I am..._

He sat back, leaning against a large sandstone rock. Too much was going on now... Too much... and he wasn't sure if he could deal with it. Reno looked up to the stars in the sky, thinking of his mentor. A man who could be kind one second, and ruthlessly cold the next. Things hadn't been easy since Tseng's death.

"Been missing you, boss."

Reno coughed nervously. He'd always felt strange talking to someone and no one at the same time, but something in him wanted, needed to talk to the man, even four years after his death. Even if he received nothing in the way of an answer, Reno felt like someone was listening.

"I bet if you were still around, you'd know what to do." He laughed. "What can I say? I'm making a pretty lousy leader. It's a wonder the Turks are still around... I dunno... I've always been a screw up."

He thought for a moment, staring at the swimming fish and vaguely wondering if they ever slept. He shook his head slowly and leant back against the rock once again.

"Yeah, I know you'd whack me in the back of the head and say something about me being one of the best Turks you've ever trained, I'm talented, I get the job done, blah blah blah... Yeah. It'd just be so much easier if you were around... I dunno..."

He looked back to the twinkling stars, so far away and yet so close.

"...If you could just help us out..."

~*~

The loud whirring sound of a helicopter once again filled Wutai as Reeve's personal pilot warmed up the machine, prepping for take off. The president was about to step onboard when –

"Sir!"

Reeve turned around to see Shake, the man frantically waving him down. "Yes?"

"Godo wishes to see you before you leave."

Entering the building as quickly as possible, Reeve was almost afraid that something had gone wrong, or that something was going to go wrong... What he heard, however, was something that he didn't think he would ever hear.

"I have a request of you... Please keep in mind that you can turn it down if you must."

Reeve nodded, needing to hear exactly what this 'request' was. He was nervous. He looked to Yuffie, who sat aside her father, hoping to see some sort of reaction from the girl, but she seemed to be about as bewildered as he himself was.

"As you know, Yuffie has proved herself to be quite competent as a ninja..."

Reeve nodded again, "Yes... I remember her being good back during Meteor."

"Because of the threat this Constantine presents to Wutai, and because your people have given so much to our own, I am requesting that Yuffie go along with you and help you apprehend this criminal."

Yuffie's face contorted in shock. _Reno, Rude, Reno, Elena, Reno, Reno, Reno..._

"I see no problem with that." Reeve said, noticing the look on the girl's face. "That is, if Yuffie accepts."

"I... I..."

Godo glared at his daughter, knowing full well that, if given the choice, she wouldn't accept. "This is for Wutai, Yuffie. Remember that."

Yuffie looked down to the floor. _I've always wanted to prove myself to him... Make him believe in me... And it is for Wutai's good... Maybe... I can put up with that ass... Maybe..._

She groaned. "Fine..."

Yuffie stood up and wordlessly headed for her room, intent on packing as slowly as possible. 

_Just because I'm going doesn't mean I want to go..._ She trudged up the stairs and into her room, grabbed her backpack from a large closet, and tossed it onto her bed.

_I wonder what Reno's going to say to this?_

She smirked as she tossed a shirt, a pair of shorts, and pouch full of mastered materia into her bag.

_Yes... That would be reason enough to go..._

"THERE AIN'T NO WAY!"

The words echoing into her room, Yuffie could do nothing but laugh.

~*~

A/N - Well... A day after I post another one shot and claim that this chapter will be out... before Christmas, I end up (finally) finishing chapter 4. I must really be that bored... My muses must really be that pent up. O.o

I'm sure I have a few technical facts wrong here. (ie- the geography of Wutai) I hope they're not that terrible. Sometimes I'm really dense. ^^;

I don't know if anyone's still following this, at least anyone who started this back a while ago. But either way, if you have a thought or something, I'd love to hear it. ^^;


	5. Chapter 5

**Past Grudges, Saving Graces  
** A Shinimegami Rena Valentine Production

Chapter V  
_Who said things could be simple? Thoughtful Interludes, Caffeine, and Nicotine._

  
He couldn't believe it.

Of all the people Godo could have sent along with them, it had to be _her_. Reno stared at the girl who calmly stared back. They were stuck together, Reno and Yuffie. And while he knew that he should learn to deal with this... setback, he would rather not.

What kind of help would she be, anyway? Sure, Yuffie was part of Avalanche, and yeah, she was pretty good with that shuriken thing, but really... Reno continued staring, and she stared back, seemingly enjoying this staring contest of sorts. A smirk played upon her face. Most wouldn't, couldn't warm up to the idea of staring down a Turk, particularly Reno, but she was unfazed. Her gray eyed gaze was lopsided. She didn't take him seriously for one minute.

"Finally realized how sexy I am, didn'tcha?" Yuffie grinned and placed a hand on her hip. She was bored out of her mind. Godo had sent her to help them out. What he didn't understand was that there were no real leads as so who this Constantine Brandt was, and where they could find him. They had to start from scratch, and since Yuffie, Reno, and Rude weren't as adept at using a computer as Elena was, they were stuck together, waiting for something, anything.

"I prefer a woman with a little more curves." Reno paused a moment, thoughtfully as he stared up to the ceiling. "Actually, in comparison to you... I prefer a woman with a lot more curves."

Yuffie scowled and stuck out her tongue. "At least I didn't get my scrawny ass beat by a stuffed cat."

Reno rolled his eyes. "Are we still talking about that?"

"Some things you can never live down."

"Like being rescued by me?"

Yuffie turned around and poured herself a cup of coffee. Reno was starting to give her a headache. "As if. You wouldn't have gotten anywhere if it hadn't been for Cloud."

"...And Cloud wouldn't have gotten anywhere if it hadn't been for me. Face it, brat. You owe me." Reno grinned, deviously. He didn't know where he was going with this. It almost sounded like something he should have reworded. Yuffie wasn't exactly someone he wanted to wax perversion with. The thought of sex with Yuffie made him feel... Well...

Reno shook his head. He needed sleep, alcohol, something.

"Well what is it you want, oh mighty saviour Reno?" Yuffie shifted her weight onto her left foot, this fight was getting tiresome. She supposed she should have been the bigger person and let Reno be Reno, but then again, it wasn't in her nature. She wouldn't let Reno win this one. 

Reno was stuck. What did he want, anyway? He growled under he breath, dug through his pants and produced a crinkled up pack of cigarettes, lit one and took a drag. Therein lay his something.

"Leviathan, you are disgusting." Yuffie wrinkled up her nose and turned around. "I'm going to talk to Reeve and see, what exactly we're going to do. You just stay here and continue being productive."

~*~

"I know you don't want to be here..." Reeve had been going over the old Shinra documents, in hopes of finding something on Brandt. There had to be something on him in the Turks files... It was the only thing that made sense. Why else would there be a vendetta?

That was when Yuffie had come in, or rather barged in. She plopped herself onto one of his plush leather chairs and propped her feet onto his desk. Yuffie had never been one for formalities. Especially with her old friend.

Over time, Reeve had learned that Yuffie was, indeed, a very interesting, complex person. He'd found her to be the more amusing members of Avalanche when he'd met her through Cait. They were both outcast, the two of them as well as Vincent. She was useful, yes, but not so easy to get along with. And Reeve, or rather Cait Sith? He had been the double crosser... The suit with a heart. 

Reeve had learned a lot through Cait. He'd gotten to know all of them, but Yuffie most of all. He got the impression that Yuffie was lonely. She was difficult, yes, but she still needed someone to talk to... And more often than not, that someone was Cait. Thus started a friendship that lasted years after Meteor, and brought her into his office to gripe about Reno's "gawdawfully gross" habits.

"It wouldn't bother me so much if there was something to do! I can't believe Godo sometimes..."

"Hey." Reeve grinned as he closed another file cabinet. Nothing. "It's better than doing nothing, right? And Reno can't be that bad?"

"Nah, he is. You're just used to him." Yuffie smirked.

"Y'know, when I first met you, you actually reminded me of him." Reeve's grin grew exponentially when he watched her face contort into that of extreme disgust.

"Eww... please Reeve... I was sick enough on the flight here."

~*~

"You know, things would be a lot easier if you would just deal with her being here." Rude stared down his red-headed friend through his dark glasses.

"Yeah, but you know I've never liked things easy." Reno looked out the window and tossed his half smoked cigarette down thirty or so floors, taking half a second to wonder exactly whom he must have hit. "Well... other than my women."

Rude sighed. It had been a long day. Sometimes Reno could be impossible. "Just consider being a little easier to get along with. I'm sure Reeve's talking to her as we speak."

"Yeah, yeah..." Reno shoved his hands into his pockets and looked down to the street thoughtfully. Yuffie was just too much fun to play with. She was one of the few people he knew who would actually fight back. Elena could be fun to tease, but after a while, she would either tire of it, or take something seriously. Yuffie however...

Well, she'd shoot something, anything back. The chocobos could come back and leave again, and she'd still have a retort. Even if it made little sense.

Reno hated to admit it, but he derived a lot of fun from being around with her.

He just couldn't admit it. And she could never know.

~*~

The clicking of keys filled the silent, darkened office of Elena Cole. If anyone could find imformation on this man, it would be Elena. She had been hired as a Turk for many reasons, one of which was her talent with computers.

Lines of text and code flew by the screen, her fingers moving nimbly. She was oblivious to the outside world, completely immersed in the countless numbers and letters.

Suddenly, the screen darkened, the computer stopped. She blinked, confused, and removed her hands from the keyboard. "What?"

This had never happened before. She checked the power source. Everything was on. It should be working fine.

A sound startled her, it had gotten too quiet in there. She looked to her right, trying to ignore the pounding of her heart, the sound echoing in her ears. A fax was coming in, the header stating that it had originated in Mideel. With shaking hands, she reached into the paper tray and picked up the paper. Maybe the incoming fax had froze up the computer?

She turned it over and gasped. The black text revealed two words.

**You're Next.**

~*~

"So it's Mideel?" Reno was pacing the room, internally fraught with worry. This had to mean something...

"Y-yeah." Elena didn't look up. It was obvious from the moment she confronted them that she was worried, terrified. Whoever had sent this had meant it for her, and they had to know something about her. After all, they knew how to reach her. She shivered inadvertently. 

"I don't like it." Rude's voice echoed across the room from his corner.

"None of us do." Reno said dryly. "But we have to do something."

Yuffie had been silent since Elena confronted Reeve. The woman had been pale, obviously beyond spooked. Distraught. Yuffie couldn't imagine how she'd react in such a situation. 

But were they missing a vital issue behind this? Was she the only one who could see through the fax?

"You guys do realize that this is probably a trap... Don't you?"

Reno scowled. "What do you take us for? Idiots? Of course we know it's a trap. Shiva..." He tossed himself onto a chair, and watched Yuffie timidly look down. Maybe he'd been a bit too harsh with her. They were all under a lot of pressure. It didn't look good.

Reeve placed a hand on Yuffie's shoulder. "Even if it is a trap, which it probably is, we have to do something. I'll have the helicopter prepped for flight. We'll be on our toes. Nothing should go wrong."

"Optimistic." Reno said under his breath, his eyebrows knitted together in worry. He was afraid for Elena. He didn't want her to experience what he'd gone through. She was almost like a sister to him. A younger, annoying, slightly naive sister.

Yuffie sighed and wordlessly followed Reeve out, going to her room to collect her bags. She wasn't in the mood to fight with Reno, and she knew that if she stayed, it would start. It always did.

Reno and Rude once again sat silently in the coffee room, the silence awkward and tense.

"What did I tell you Reno?" Rude stood up.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I'll try to behave." 

"That's a good boy. We'd better get going."

Reno stood up and stretched, loudly popping his neck into place. He had a feeling it would be a while before he got some alcohol into his system. A long, tiresome while.

~*~

Author's Ramble: Well, here's more. Though I should update this before I got started on another TCBTP chapter. Somehow that project is getting the bulk of my creative thought. That and prospects of a web comic. *grin*

I'm starting to get an idea of what I'm going to do here. Slowly. Which is good. Very good. Looking back on this chapter, this is almost starting to look like a Reeve x Yuffie. Kooky. Thanks for reading so far. I'll try to get more out soon. ^_^; 


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